Al-Qaeda to Ahmadinejad: Knock off the 9/11 conspiracy theories

From the Guardian:

Al-Qaida has sent a message to the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asking him to stop spreading conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks.

Iranian media on Wednesday reported quotes from what appears to be an article published in the latest issue of the al-Qaida English language magazine, Inspire, which described Ahmadinejad's remarks over the 11 September attacks as "ridiculous."

What are you trying to do, Al-Qaeda? Deprive this blog of its subject matter? (h/t: Drudge)

Chabad.org: "Rosh Hashanah in a Nutshell"

I won't be posting from Wednesday night until Saturday night. What is this Rosh Hashanah business anyway?

The festival of Rosh Hashanah --the name means "Head of the Year" --is observed for two days beginning on Tishrei 1, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind's role in G-d's world.

Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G-d and humanity: our dependence upon G-d as our creator and sustainer, and G-d's dependence upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, "all inhabitants of the world pass before G-d like a flock of sheep," and it is decreed in the heavenly court, "who shall live, and who shall die... who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise." But this is also the day we proclaim G-d King of the Universe. The Kabbalists teach that the continued existence of the universe is dependant upon the renewal of the divine desire for a world when we accept G-d's kingship each year on Rosh Hashanah.

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn, which represents the trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man's first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac's place as an offering to G-d; we evoke Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity. Altogether, the shofar is sounded 100 times in the course of the Rosh Hashanah service.

Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year's blessings. b) Blessing one another with the words Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." c) Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.) in evocation of the verse, "And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea." And as with every major Jewish holiday after candlelighting and prayers we recite Kiddush and make a blessing on the Challah.

May you be sealed and inscribed for a good and sweet year.

(North) Korean News: "Iran's President Calls for Resisting against Arrogant Powers"

Korean News continues to feature propaganda for other dictatorships. Dig those strangely stunted paragraphs:

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a diplomatic appearance on Sept. 20 called for resisting against the arrogant powers.

He said that independent states cooperating with each other can provide their own interests and resist against the arrogant powers.

He stressed that the dominant powers must understand that the time of slavery is over and nations are not going to tolerate pressures anymore.

Iran along with other independent and justice seeking countries can stand and resist against those who want to impose pressure and dominate other nations.

ISNA (Iran): "Iran says deployment of NATO shield in Turkey 'inefficient'"

The missile shield is quite efficient at revealing the fault lines in the newfound solidarity of Turkey and Iran:

An Iranian IRGC Commander said Thursday deployment of NATO missile shield would be inefficient in Turkey.

"The moves are all the US and Zionist's evil acts against Iran," Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Ali Hajizadeh said as asked about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) plans on deployment of defense missile shield in Turkey.

The IRGC official added, "If Iran wants to dispatch ballistic missile, no threat will be effective and we declare they should be on alert about their own defense missile shield if they want to shoot down our missiles."

Also Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said, "The US excuses on deployment of defense system in Turkey are unwise and are scheduled to protect Zionist regime."

He said Zionist regime's problems would not be resolved by such acts and added, "Zionist regime's key problems are its lack of legitimacy and internal collapse as well as awakening and freedom of the regional nations which cannot be resolved by deployment of single radar."

There is also the lack of a definite article before the phrase "Zionist entity."

Vahidi noted, "By deployment of the system they want to limit Iranian and Russian power, but all of these excuses are unwise and incorrect."

Vahidi in a question asked on probable attack on Syria said, "It is an absolute insanity. We call it a support for the Zionist regime, if such measure takes place." [...]

If people had to refrain from doing everything that is really a Zionist plot, nothing would ever get done.

Fars (Iran): "Leader's Aide Terms Turkey's Positions against Zionists Political Gesture"

Let's hear from another general. Mr. Supreme (or Iran or Major General Mouthpiece) shows some interesting displeasure with Turkey here:

Iranian Supreme Leader's top advisor for military affairs Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi downplayed the importance of the positions and stances adopted by Ankara against the Zionist regime, describing them as political gesture.

"Turkey's gestures against the Zionists are political and they (the Turks) have maintained their relations (with the Zionist regime) behind the scene," Safavi said on Monday.

Relations between Turkey and Israel seemed to be going a bit dark after the Israeli military attacked the Gaza-bound relief aid convoy Freedom Flotilla in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea in May 2010, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the Turkish-flagged M.V. Mavi Marmara and injuring at least 50 other activists that were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.

Turkey announced earlier this month that many military agreements between Ankara and Tel Aviv have been halted and the Israeli ambassador has been expelled over Tel Aviv's refusal to apologize for the last year's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound flotilla, which led to the killing of several Turkish nationals.

But despite these seemingly anti-Israeli positions by Ankara, analysts and officials of several regional states, including Iran and Syria, blast Turkey for its acceptance of a NATO missile shield which has been designed to more save the Israeli regime.

Earlier this month, a senior Iranian legislator rapped Ankara for agreeing with the deployment of the NATO missile system in Turkey, and said the regional nations are displeased with Ankara's contradictory attitudes and policies

"The contradictory behavior of Turkey is not acceptable to the regional countries," Vice-Chairman of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Esmae'il Kosari told FNA in mid September.

Kosari said Turkey's decision resulted from a double-standard policy, and stressed that Ankara lost the reputation and prestige that it had gained through its recent positions in support of the Muslim countries.

Meantime, media reports said that Turkey may consider cooperating with international powers in the event they decide to intervene militarily in Syria.

A report in the Turkish "Hurriyet" newspaper said "Turkey has lost its patience with Syria".

According to Ankara officials, Turkish President Abdullah Gul has issued an ultimatum to Syrian President Bashar Assad via his Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu who visited Syria last month.

Zionist lackey!

Fars: "Basically, BBC is not a media, rather it is an organization in disguise which has a Baha'i-Zionist nature with political-intelligence missions"

Iran displays its great alertness and vigilance, also known as brain-splat:

Detention of the members of a covert network who wired information to the British intelligence agency (MI6) under the cover of reporting for the British Broadcasting Corporation was the beginning of the country's clampdown on the BBC intelligence network, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi announced on Sunday.

"We have made the least detentions, but these measures mark the beginning of our actions in this regard and we carry out our duty very decisively whenever necessary," Moslehi told reporters.

He stressed that Iran had on several occasions announced that cooperation with the BBC has been banned to safeguard the country's national interests.

Moslehi said, "Basically, BBC is not a media, rather it is an organization in disguise which has a Baha'i-Zionist nature with political-intelligence missions."

Moslehi reminded the BBC's key role in the 2009 post-election unrests in Iran, and said the British broadcaster is a conglomerate of different antirevolutionary elements which carry out the most inimical acts against the country.

The Iranian intelligence ministry earlier this month confirmed that its forces have arrested members of a covert network who wired information to the BBC, accusing them of providing logistic support for enemies' soft war experts.

If that isn't a good description of the BBC's function, I don't know what is.

The Public Relations Office of the intelligence ministry said in a statement that the individuals were arrested after continued monitoring and controlling measures and massive intelligence gathering inside and outside the country by Iran's intelligence forces in the past few months.

The statement added that members of the secret network, some of whom have been arrested during the past few days, were collaborating with the BBC in a cover-up to fulfill the needs of the British secret service in exchange for big sums of money.

The ministry announced that investigations into the case and search for the remaining members of the network are underway, adding that it would release more information on the latest developments in the case in the near future.

This is not the first time that Iran is in raw with BBC over the fake reports about social and political realities in Iran.

"In raw"?

After presidential elections in June 2009, Iran ordered BBC's permanent correspondent in Tehran Jon Leyne to leave the country.

Following broadcast of fake news and change of realities on Iran's 10th presidential elections by the BBC, the Press Bureau of the Iranian Culture Ministry issued a statement to expel the BBC correspondent.

"In view of the function and performance of the BBC in distorting and changing realities on Iran's elections, Jon Leyne, the permanent correspondent of the network was expelled," the statement said at the time.

Meantime, the statement blamed the BBC reporter for encouraging unrests in Iran and destroying the private properties and public amenities during the days after the election through media tactics and psychological warfare.

If Fars News is any indication, the psy-ops were wildly successful. I don't think there is a functioning brain left in the organization.

Arutz Sheva: Man makes shehakol on Har Habayis, arrested on suspicion of reciting Birchas Kohanim

Sign of the times. How did the other member of the group "support" him? By helping him stand? By saying "amen"?

Temple Mount Police arrested a 76-year-old Jewish man Sunday after he recited a blessing before drinking some water. Yosef Hacohen felt ill during a tour of the Temple Mount and wanted to take a sip from a water bottle. As another member of the group he was a part of supported him, he recited the "shehakol" blessing that precedes drinking of beverages.

This aroused the ire of three Muslim Wakf men who had been following the 30-member group of which Hacohen was a participant.

In response to the Muslims' demands, the two policemen who also followed the group took Hacohen out of the group. This led to a small fracas. A higher ranking police officer arrived on the scene and decided to arrest Hacohen "on suspicion of reciting the Priestly blessing." [...]

Good thing they arrested him. When a 76-year-old man drinks water, there is always an "asher yatzar" on the horizon.

Asghar Bukhari calls Richard Millet names

Here.

MPAC-UK disseminates fake Ben Gurion quotes. MPAC-UK urges us not to forget that "Zionist bankers" funded Bolshevism. Bukhari sent a check to David Irving.

California Councilman names dog Muhammed to teach his children that "in some parts of the world they could be sentenced to death for doing so"

The guy may have just renamed himself "Salman Rushdie":

Naming his dog Muhammad, and later announcing it during a public meeting, was not meant to be disparaging to Muslims, San Juan Capistrano Councilman Derek Reeve said Tuesday.

In offering the first explanation of why he chose the name, Reeve said it was a decision made by his family in an exercise of free speech after teaching his children that in some parts of the world they could be sentenced to death for doing so. [...]

They can sentence you wherever you are. (h/t: Jihad Watch)

Fars: "Ahmadinejad Blasts Zionists for Displacement of Both Palestinians, Jews"

Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be ethnically cleansed of Jews. The deeply racist and Helen-Thomas-ist idea that Israeli Jews are ethically inauthentic is a big part of what is meant by the Khomeinist term "fake regime," and Iranian officials, as reported in news agencies like Fars, often call for Jews to "go back where they came from." I haven't seen this exact rhetorical ploy before, but otherwise this is business as usual:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed that the Palestinian nation's right of sovereignty should be recognized and put into action, and added that Zionists have displaced not only the Palestinians, but also the Jewish population, through their wrong thoughts and policies.

"Palestine is witnessing two types of displacement; first displacement of over 5mln indigenous Palestinian population and the second displacement is related to those (Jewish) people who have been brought there with the hope of a better life," Ahmadinejad said, addressing a large number of American university students, teachers and professors in New York on Wednesday evening.

"The best choice is ending these displacements," he said, adding, "If the sovereignty right (of the Palestinians) is recognized, no problem will remain."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has on many occasions underlined Tehran's support for the Palestinian people and their resistance against the usurper Zionist regime.

In a latest case, President Ahmadinejad reiterated Iran's support for the Palestinians during a phone conversation with Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal earlier this month.

Ahmadinejad told Mashaal that the overall conditions in the world are changing in favor of the Palestinians and their resistance, and underlined that Zionists' crimes and killings could never save them from their imminent collapse.

He stressed that Iranians will always stand by the Palestinians and support them until achievement of final victory.

PressTV (Iran): "capitalism is on its death bed and will soon experience complete demise"

The parade of Iranian officials in these articles seems to feature generals more frequently these days--and they are more frequently making pronouncements on non-military topics. They used to appear mainly in the "our army is invincible" type of article. Iran is getting more oppressive:

Commander of Iran's Basij Forces Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Naqdi says capitalism is on its death bed and will soon experience complete demise.

The Iranian official said that the reason the global arrogance is experiencing its decline is that “it revolted against its fundamental values and it is only natural that under these circumstances it will have no fate but extinction.”

“Human rights, democracy and freedom were some of the fundamental values of the West, of which nothing remains today due to the Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib scandals as well as the US coups against the elected [leaders] of nations,” Fars News Agency quoted Naqdi as saying on Monday.

He added that while economic and financial gain which are the core of liberalist values, for the past three years the US and other European countries have not been able to do anything about their negative economic growth.

“The US President [Barrack Obama] has lost face to the extent that he is forced to covertly travel to various places for fear of public protests,” the Iranian commander added.

“All the tools used by the arrogant to suppress nations are being used against it (the global arrogance) today… to the point that it has been forced to block social networking … website,” Naqdi concluded.

That's a reference to the recent riots in Great Britain, but I don't think anyone is planning to move to Iran any time soon for the internet freedom.

Deuling views of Egypt and Turkey

Juan Cole:

[...] Ethnic nationalism can make for bad relations with neighbors if it is taken too far. But a Christian Democrat or Justice & Development kind of party can sidestep thorny issues of ethnicity and racial discrimination.

Not only has Turkey moved away from a wounded Turkish secular nationalism, but Egypt has moved away from a naive Arab nationalism. With the fall of the Hosni Mubarak regime, Egypt is groping toward a new, multi-cultural politics that makes a place for Muslim religious parties and for secularists alike. Many young Muslim Brothers speak favorably of a “Turkish model.”

Turkey and Egypt do about $2.7 bn in trade with one another annually (roughly the same as Turkey and Israel). Some 250 Turkish companies have invested $1.5 bn. in Egypt. In the first half of 2011, Turkey was the world’s fastest-growing economy. [...]

Pajamas Media:

[...] The Arab world is in free fall. Leave aside Syria, whose regime continues to massacre its own people, and miserable Yemen, and post-civil war Libya. Egypt is dying. Erdogan’s “triumphal” appearance in Egypt served as a welcome distraction to Egyptians — welcome, because what they think about most of the time is disheartening. What’s on the mind of the Egyptian people these days? According to the Arab-language local media, it’s finding enough calories to get through the day.

Egypt imports half its caloric consumption, the price of its staple wheat remains at an all-time high, and most Egyptians can’t afford to buy it. The government subsidizes bread, but according to the Egyptian news site Youm7 (“The Seventh Day”), the country now faces “an escalating crisis in subsidized flour.” Packages of subsidized flour are not reaching the intended recipients, in part because the Solidarity Ministry hasn’t provided the promised shipments to stores, and in part because subsidized flour and bread are diverted to the black market. A small loaf of government-issue bread costs 5 piasters, or less than one U.S. cent, but it can’t be found in many areas, as the Solidarity Ministry, provincial government, and bakers trade accusations of responsibility for supply problems. Poor Egyptians get ration cards, but flour often is not available to card-holders. Rice, a substitute for wheat, also is in short supply, and the price has risen recently to 5.5 Egyptian pounds per kilo from 3.75 pounds.

Most Egyptians barely eat enough to keep body and soul together, and many are hungry. That is about to get much, much worse: The country is short about $20 billion a year. The central bank reports that the country’s current account deficit in the fiscal year ended July 1 swung from a $3.4 billion surplus in the fiscal year ended July 2010 to a deficit of $9.2 billion in the fiscal year ended July 2011. Almost all of the shift into red ink occurred since February, suggesting an annualized deficit of around $20 billion. Egypt’s reserves fell about $11 billion since the uprising began in February. Who’s going to cough up that kind of money? Not Turkey, whose own balance-of-payment deficit stands at 11% of GDP and whose currency is collapsing . . . [...]

Read the rest (and skip the rest of the Cole).

Ha'aretz: "Nonetheless, Abbas has rejected the new proposal, which was presented to him by American Middle East envoys and . . . Tony Blair"

The headline stresses that Israel is showing "flexibility." But the same-old-story is the real story:

In an effort to convince Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to return to the negotiating table with Israel and suspend the request to the United Nations for recognition of a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to show flexibility on a number of issues. These involve recognition of Israel as a Jewish state; the status of the June 4, 1967 borders and territorial swaps with a Palestinian state; and the time frame for the conclusion of negotiations.

Nonetheless, Abbas has rejected the new proposal, which was presented to him by American Middle East envoys and Quartet representative Tony Blair. [...]

New EOZ poster

This is not just the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but the whole Middle East in a nutshell:

More EOZ posters.

None of the reports about Egypt and lulavim seem to notice that this is two years in a row

Here is the AFP, for instance:

An Egyptian decision to ban the export of closed palm fronds used in an upcoming Jewish festival is forcing Israel to seek ways to make up the shortfall, its agriculture minister said on Sunday.

In the past, Israeli dealers imported between 600,000 and 700,000 fronds, the vast majority of which came from Egypt's Sinai region. [...]

In this article, the present ban is simply contrasted with the "past." Here is an article about last year's lulav situation, however:

Giving Jews plenty of time to prepare for the Sukkot holiday, three and a half months away, Egypt has announced that it will not export lulavs this year.

Egyptian Agriculture Minister says he will ban the export of lulavs – palm tree fronds – this year, leaving Jewish communities around the world and particularly in Israel without its major source of lulavim for the Sukkot holiday. [...]

Nevertheless:

The Agriculture Ministry believes that it has managed to avert a shortage in lulavs -- palm tree fronds that are one of the Four Species used in the Sukkot holiday – despite a last-minute announcement by Egypt that it will not allow exports of lulavs this year. Israeli palm tree growers are expected to be able to produce enough lulavs to meet the demand, and imports from other countries are still an option. The Ministry also believes that lulav prices will not jump because of the unexpected situation.

I hope not. I assume US prices will parallel Israeli ones, and I have to buy a set of arba minim for the Judeobochur also.

IRIB: "Satans trying to impede IRI's progress: President"

The brain dissolving ray is working really well.

IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday that all the world Satans are hand in hand preventing Iran development because in that case they will have no position worldwide.

Addressing a group of the provincial war disabled, directors and the elite, President Ahmadinejad said the Satans are scared of the Iranian nation because the nation enjoy a lofty culture that is affiliated to the Messenger of Allah the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Ahl-ul-Bait' (the infallible household of the holy Prophet of Islam).

President Ahmadinejad said if the lofty culture is introduced anywhere on earth well, all will accept it.

Everybody is just thristing for infallible households.

Fars News (Iran): "US Preacher Appreciates Ayatollah Khamenei's Role in Foiling Enemies' Plots"

Founder of the Islamic Institute of Counter-Zionist American Psychological Warfare! He certainly fits right in at Fars:

The prayers leader of Washington's al-Islam Mosque, Imam Abdul-Alim Moussa, underlined the role of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in thwarting the plots hatched by the West to annihilate the Islamic Revolution in Iran.

"During the presidential post-election events (2009), the West and the US made their utmost attempts at local and international levels to annihilate the Revolution in Iran but the important role of Velayat Faqih (religious leadership) defused all their plots," Moussa told FNA on Sunday.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of the first conference on Islamic Awakening which kicked off work here in Tehran on Saturday and will last for two days.

Moussa appreciated Iran for choosing the title of "Islamic Awakening" for the conference as a strategic move, and said the phrase was a good choice compared with the "Arab Spring" used by the western media to describe the recent uprisings in the Middle-East and North Africa.

His remarks alluded to the unrests which began in Iran following the June 12 presidential election. While the defeated candidates alleged that the vote had been rigged, the Guardian Council, the body in charge of supervising the elections dismissed the allegations. [...]

That should be enough for anybody . . .

Update: The latest Haveil Havalim foils all enemy plots.

Guardian editorial supports Palestinian statehood bid

There is a lot to comment on, but I will focus on the following:

More than six decades later, Palestinians, who at first refused to accept the partition plan of the newly minted UN, are seeking similar recognition, firstly in front of the Security Council, asking for their own state based on the 1967 borders free from occupation and settlement by half-a-million Israelis, able to determine their own affairs.

If Palestinian have a right to state "free from . . . settlement by half-a-million Israelis," what do the authors envision? The expulsion of half-a-million people? The hand-over of the Jewish Quarter? Complete Arab control of the Western Wall? Don't expect any clarification on these points--I don't think these questions exist in the mental universe of the Guardianistas.

Fars News (Iran): "Islamic Jihad Leader Stresses Palestinian Determination to Take Back Occupied Lands"

Hamas officials often appear in the Iranian press making similar statements--and it is all translated into English:

Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement Ramadan Abdullah underlined Palestinians' determination to take back their territories from the Zionist occupiers, and said his people would not give even an inch of their lands to the usurper Israeli regime.

"We want the freedom of entire Palestine and will not give even an iota of our territories to anyone," Abdullah said, addressing the First International Conference on Islamic Awakening in Tehran on Saturday.

"The capital of Palestine is the holy Quds," he added, reiterating that Palestinians are resolved to the take back their capital from the Zionist occupiers.

Abdullah further blasted the US and certain Arab countries for exercising different plots to forge reconciliation between the Muslim countries and the Zionists, and praised the Iranian nation for resisting against such schemes and conspiracies.

He assured the audience that Palestinians would continue resistance against the Israeli regime and its allies, and said, "We should free the whole Palestine from the yoke of the Zionists".

Prominent Palestinian political and religious figures have always praised Iran's glorious and honorable stance in support of the oppressed Palestinian people.

Iran is due to hold an international conference on the Palestinian uprising (intifada) in Tehran on October 1-2.

Member of the Iranian parliament's Presiding Board Hossein Sobhaninia said in July that the conference, sponsored by the Iranian parliament, will be held to "find solutions for achieving the rights and ideals of Palestinians."

(North) Korean News: "Cuba, Iran Call for Fighting against Colonialist Powers"

Shatter those hegemonic moves:

Raul Castro Ruz, president of the Council of State and president of the Council of Ministers of Cuba, and Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi in a recent conversation called for fighting against colonialist powers.

The development of relations between Cuba and Iran will have a great impact on shattering the hegemonic moves of powers and strengthening the unity of the countries opposed to the colonialist forces, they noted.

The colonialists are bound to face collapse, they said, stressing that the two countries would strengthen exchange and cooperation in the future.

Have a Songun Shabbos!

New horizons in point-missing

There is a current Op-ed at JTA from the director of the New Orleans Jewish Federation, Michael J. Weil. Incredibly, he writes that Israel should support the UN statehood declaration and offer to meet with the new entity "to negotiate borders and resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries." This is a remarkable example of someone being so swept up in his arguments in favor of something that he is barely noticing what he is arguing for.

Abbas is not planning to declare a state within yet-to-be-determined borders, subject to negotiation. Hasn't Weil been paying attention? I assume the point of declaring a state within the 67 borders is perhaps not to renounce negotiations entirely but certainly to remove from the table what the Israeli side generally assumes the negotiations are supposed to be about. Abbas apparently wants any further negotiations to involve a Palestinian "state" that already has borders. Anyone paying attention to his rhetoric of not giving up Palestinian "rights" should recognize what he is doing. Maybe there can be negotiations about security cooperation, but about recognition of Israel as a Jewish state? About borders? About the "right of return"? Abbas is transitioning from repeated expressions of an inflexible position to UN ratification of the inflexibility.

Israel should demand that any country declaring its support for Palestinian statement define the territory it is supporting. Is it demanding the immediate hand-over of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem to the Arabs? Declaring half a million Jews, many living in towns they were born in and in a Jerusalem that has been majority Jewish for most of two centuries, to be foreign interlopers?

Abbas's plan is an attempted UN-backed checkmate. It has absolutely nothing to do with happy talk of two states for two peoples. While it is fighting this development, Israel faces a crucial task of explaining to the world what it means. American Jews should be doing the same thing.

Fars: "Iranian President Hails Intelligence Ministry's Vigilance, Power"

It's the new, improved Iran--15% more totalitarian!

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lauded the intelligence ministry for its vigilance and power in foiling enemies' plots against the country, and said that the ministry has become a relying point for the Supreme Leader.

"The intelligence ministry forces have turned into a center of trust and confidence for the Supreme Leader (of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) in the Islamic establishment," Ahmadinejad said Tuesday night.

He pointed to the constant change in the methods and equipments used by the security and intelligence agencies round the world, and said the Iranian intelligence ministry should update its equipment and move towards using new tactics and methods for fulfilling its missions.

"Today we can no more fulfill an intelligence task through old methods since many situations and conditions of the world and even the countries' laws have changed," Ahmadinejad said.

Senior Iranian officials and legislators have always reiterated Iran's intelligence supremacy over the enemies' moves and espionage operations in the region, saying that the Iranian intelligence forces' successful operations against CIA and Mossad operatives in recent years prove the superiority of the Iranian side.

"The hawk-eyed Iranian intelligence forces are monitoring all US moves in the region. Our security and intelligence forces defuse many US plots, but they don't usually make a relevant public announcement," Head of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi told FNA in May.

"Palestinians back off UN Security Council statehood bid," but don't get too excited-- the source is Debka

Interesting, anyway:

The tempest which Israel had tensely anticipated for September in the wake of a Palestinian bid for unilateral UN recognition of their state looks like fizzling out before it begins as a result of a massive US campaign to avert it, backed by Saudi Arabia, Europe and Egypt.

Early Wednesday, Sept. 14, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas decided crucially not to submit his application to the UN Security Council. He also notified Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal and European Union foreign executive Catherine Ashton in Cairo that he was considering watering down his application to the UN General Assembly – possibly by dropping the "state within 1967 borders" provision from the text.

Abbas said he would make his final decision known in a public address from Ramallah Friday, Sept 16 before flying to New York to join world leaders at the UN General Assembly's 66th session which began Tuesday. [...]

Mehr: "Cleric advises Ahmadinejad to readjust his attitude"

Extremely interesting and extremely vague. That's the way it is with the Iranian press:

The representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, in a recent meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has criticized him for not living up to his ideals and advised him to readjust his attitude.

Hojjatoleslam Ali Saeedi has told the president that his sympathizers are displeased with some of his actions and behaviors.

He has also said that the president still has time to make up for his past.

That's reassuring.

Fars (Iran): "Ahmadinejad gave an outstanding speech about the US, Israel and the existence of the Holocaust when he visited the campus in 2007"

This one is hilarious:

American sources said that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is likely to pay a second visit to Columbia University four years after his first appearance and address to the students of the American university won the admiration of not just his audience, but many world leaders.

Columbia University students may get the chance to dine with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on September 21, the school's student newspaper reported.

The Iranian president first visited the Columbia University on the sidelines of the 62nd annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2007.

Ahmadinejad gave an outstanding speech about the US, Israel and the existence of the Holocaust when he visited the campus in 2007 for a talk, and he was given repeated applause by the audience.

Following his speech, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a meeting with the Iranian President that Ahmadinejad's remarks at the US Columbia University underlined the righteousness and truthfulness of the Islamic Republic's stances.

For his part, the Iranian president said that his presence at the different think-thanks and scientific bodies and circles during his visit to the US proved the righteous stances and the truthful words of the Iranian nation.

He said addressees always have an ear for the right words due to their pure and clean nature, no matter where they are and where they live.

Also in a separate meeting on the sidelines of the 2007 UN General Assembly meeting, Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani told Ahmadinejad that the whole world endorses the righteousness of his address to the US Columbia University.

The Qatari Emir called on the Iranian president to increase his contacts and relations with the public opinion in the US and inform the American nation of his ideas very explicitly.

"Despite all the obstacles the US administration created to prevent your contact with the media, thinking groups, scholars and church leaders, your presence in the US was a great success," he reiterated, adding, "Americans and the world people heard your words at Columbia University and endorsed the righteousness of your statements."

But, this time the University officials have apparently taken more care about the great impacts of Ahmadinejad's presence in their university and have just invited him to a private dinner in midtown with members of the Columbia International Relations Council and Association, according to the Columbia Spectator.

The group may bring along 15 students to share a meal with the president. [...]

Erdogan approved of the Holocaust-denial? I wonder if there is a way to corroborate this.

Tidbit from new Ahmadinejad interview

The interview is as at WaPo and appears to be partially behind a paywall; however, Camera's Snapshots blog has this:

The United States has a population of 300 million and the whole population is going to be sacrificed for the interests of a few hundred Zionists. A dreadful party, a feared party, the party that was behind the first World War and the second World War. Whenever there is a conflict or war — this party is behind it.

(h/t: Martin Kramer)

SANA headline of the day: "Terrorist Admits Shooting Demonstrators to Accuse Security Forces of Doing that"

When the Assad regime finally goes down, some virtuoso confession-extractors will be looking (probably briefly) for new employers:

Terrorist Hayel Hasan al-Hammoud, confessed to participating in crimes against the army, law-enforcement members and innocenthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif citizens in Homs besides the participation in the demonstrations.

In his confessions aired Monday by the Syrian al-Ekhbaria Satellite Channel, terrorist al-Hammoud, a resident of Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs, said he was a driver of an armed group including Ahmad al-Doud, Khalid al-Doud and Abu Hamza al-Zidani.

The terrorist added there was another armed group comprising Nader Abu al-Dahab, Ahmad al-Louz, Nader al-Hassouni, Mahmoud Zo'eib, Khalid Zo'eib and Khalid Abu Saqqar, besides a group led by Mohannad al-Omar.

"After one month of the beginning of the demonstrations we were armed… the weapons and money were sent from Lebanon from al-Hariri via a person in al-Kanesah village named Hatem, who transported it to Mohammed al-Mustafa." He said. [...]

Iran sets ransom for US hikers

From the AP:

An Iranian court Tuesday set bail of $500,000 each for two American men arrested more than two years ago and convicted on spy-related charges, clearing the way for their release a year after a similar bail-for-freedom arrangement for the third member of the group, their defense attorney said. [...]

Doin' the sycophantic boogie

The song "Our general is the best" has been mentioned in a number of these articles. Heck, it has probably been mentioned four or five times on this blog. Do you suppose it's catchy?

Dancing parties of youth and students took place in different parts of the country on Friday to mark the 63rd birthday of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Dancing parties took place in various parts of Pyongyang including the plazas of the Party Founding Memorial Tower, the Arch of Triumph and the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium.

As song "My Country Holding the General in High Esteem" resounded forth, the participants enthusiastically danced to the tune of songs "My Country Is the Eternal Country of the Leader", "Let's Love My Motherland," etc. with unbounded reverence for President Kim Il Sung.

Amid the playing of songs including "Our General Is the Best", "Let's Sing of the Dear General of People" and "His Ideal" they presented pleasant dances, recollecting the immortal exploits Kim Jong Il has performed by demonstrating the dignity and might of Kim Il Sung's Korea.

All the participants danced to the tune of songs "I Will Devote My Youth to the Country" and "March of Korean Youth" reflecting the revolutionary enthusiasm to exalt the honor of being a reserve combat unit, a special detachment of the Supreme Commander in the on-going general offensive under the Songun leadership of Kim Jong Il. [...]

A "detachment of the Supreme Commander"? He's like a vacuum cleaner?

SANA (Syria): "Mansour: Lebanon, As Head of Security Council, Will Not Accept Any Resolution Threatening Syria's Security and Stability"

The world's in good hands:

Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour on Sunday affirmed his country's clear and honest support of Syria and the Palestinian cause during its chairmanship of the Security Council, stressing Lebanon's firm and primary stance of rejecting any resolution that threatens Syria's security and stability. [...]

Fars: "Presidential Office Condemns Western Media for Fabricating Ahmadinejad's Comments on Syria"

A few days ago, a New York Times headline proclaimed "In Shift, Iran’s President Calls for End to Syrian Crackdown." This supposed clarification of what he said lacks detail, uses the word "stances" alot, and doesn't appear to ringingly endorse Assad:

The Iranian presidential office in a statement on Monday condemned certain foreign media outlets for fabricating President Ahmadinejad's remarks and stances on Syria, underlining that the Iranian president strongly condemns foreign intervention in Syria's domestic affairs.

The statement said certain media outlets affiliated to the world arrogance and international Zionism in a concerted and hostile move have fabricated President Ahmadinejad's comments and added certain phrases to the principled and revolutionary stances and remarks made by the Iranian president during a meeting with a visiting delegation of media people from Kuwait on Thursday.

"As always, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad underlined the revolutionary and principled stances of the Iranian nation during this meeting, and condemned foreign interference in the internal affairs of the regional countries, including Syria, and stressed the necessity for resolving the issues of that country on the basis of understanding and dialogue," the statement added.

During the meeting, President Ahmadinejad noted the developments in Syria and said, "The first thing to do is that differences should not be allowed to be intensified. Unfortunately some countries are sending arms to (certain elements) inside Syria and this action will certainly not help settle the problems and will only pour oil to the flame of differences."

"The people and government of Syria are Muslims and Islamic countries should enter the issues of this country through an overall consensus and help to the settlement of the differences and carrying out of reforms," Ahmadinejad added according to the statement.

The Iranian president further noted that he is fully informed that the US and its allies have devised extensive plans for the regional countries and intend to destabilize the region.

"They even have plans for those countries which are sendihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifng weapons to (certain elements inside) Syria and they want to materialize their goals in Syria through these states and will then come and deal with the very same countries," he added.

He further expressed Iran's readiness to host a meeting for the Muslim states to rush to Syria's aid after reaching an overall consensus, and added that "Islamic countries should reach an agreement over their help to the settlement of the problems of Syria away from the aliens because the same thing might happen in another Arab country in future and such an experience (of collective cooperation) will be needed then".

"States of the region should seek to secure the rights of their peoples without the intervention of the Westerners and they should view such a move as an exalted goal and principle because if the westerners enter the region again, they won't withdraw easily and they will rescue the Zionists and suppress the Palestinians and other Islamic countries, harshly," he added.

Speaking of Ahmadinejad, MSNBC has an extremely puffy, fluffy, and gushy current interview with him. At the end of the video we are promised a part two, featuring questions about some of the things that make A-jad "controversial." I'm not holding my breath.

Israeli group plays "Jewish-Muslim metal" in Turkey

Reuters just wants us to know that every dark cloud has a metal lining:

Israeli heavy metal is rocking Turkey despite deep discord between the Jewish state and its Muslim former ally as hundreds of fans turned out to hear a group called Orphaned Land play a concert in Istanbul.

The group played to Turkish fans and others who came from countries across the Arab world on Saturday. Because the Israeli musicians can't enter many Arab states, they perform several times a year in Turkey, a hub for their fans. [...]

"I think that music has the power to enter your heart like a bullet ... Usually we judge, usually we stereotype ... I am Israeli, they were raised the whole time not to connect with me. I am the enemy, I'm the bad guy and music has the power to break (the cycle of hatred)," he told Reuters.

The group initiated a brand of music it called "Jewish-Muslim metal" that is derived from heavy metal. Many of the band's songs include prayer lyrics from Jewish liturgy, the Koran and other religious texts. [...]

Does that mean the words are intelligible? Or the CD comes with a lyric sheet?

ISNA (Iran): "Iran to build first twin technology towers"

Here is an oddly topical and just plain odd little item. It is going to be "built by native scholars." Great way to save money on construction costs!

Iranian first twin technology towers would be built by native scholars.

The first phase of the project would be finished by October 2012 provided that it would be supported financially.

The twin towers floor space is 40 thousands square meter in 16 floors.

The project launched on September 2010 and the deadline is scheduled for October 2012.

"Provided that it would be supported financially," of course.

Fars: A-jad: 9/11 "actually a planned game to provoke the human community's sentiments and find an excuse for launching attack on Muslim regions"

And he's pointing that finger of truth at you, World Arrogance Man:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned Washington for planning the September 11 incidents, and said the US staged the move in a bid to find an excuse to wage war on Muslim nations.

"The September 11 (attacks) were actually a planned game to provoke the human community's sentiments and find an excuse for launching attack on Muslim regions and occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, which led to the massacre of one million innocent people," Ahmadinejad said on Sunday.

He also said that the arrogant powers attempt to wage war in different parts of the world in order to sell the weapons produced by their arms production plants.

In similar remarks earlier this month, a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official and a career diplomat, Mohsen Pakaein, blamed the American Neoconservatives for the September 11 attacks on the US, saying that Neocons have victimized thousands of Americans in a bid to attain an array of large-scale goals, including finding control over the world nations and their wealth.

Ahmadinejad had also, in his address to the 65th UN General Assembly meeting in New York late in September 2010, had called on the world body to form an independent fact-finding group about the 9/11 attacks on the US.

"It is proposed that the United Nations set up an independent fact-finding group for the event of September 11 so that expressing views about it will not be forbidden in future," Ahmadinejad said. [...]

Hmmm, that's something he usually says about the Holocaust. Is he getting his conspiracies confused again?

Juan Cole: That's about it for "authoritarian movements" in the Middle East

Juan is awfully optimistic in a post entitled: "Ten Years after 9/11, Do the Arabs value Democracy more than We do?":

. . . it has been demonstrated that most publics in the Arab world see parliamentary democracy as the most suitable political system going forward. They are thus rejecting the Leninist critique of parliaments as mere tools of oppression by the rich and as ultimately undemocratic because only representative– a critique that had been taken into both leftist and Muslim fundamentalist Arab ideologies. The dream of direct democracy has over and over again revealed itself to be a mere illusion enabling a ferocious dictatorship. Qaddafi even maintained that he had stepped down from power and wasn’t ruling, an absurd assertion credited by his more gullible useful idiots in the West. No one has suffered more from the anti-democratic utopianism of the twentieth century, which most Arab countries implemented on becoming independent from their colonial masters (the British, French and Italians). But the age of dictators and Supreme Guides who incarnated at once the will of the people and the will of God is passing in the Middle East, leaving authoritarian movements like al-Qaeda in the dust of history. [...]

I'm so relieved. Maybe I'll invite Qaradawi for a beer.

Angry Arab on "Zionist Plagiarism"

I wonder sometimes if the internet is not the ideal medium for Angry Arab. Maybe he would be happier standing on a street corner ranting at the passing cars?

This reminds me of "literature" coming out of Israel. I have never ever read a negative review of any book that comes out of Israel in the US press. I mean, never ever. If Amos Oz sneezes, the sneeze is reviewed favorably in the US press, and it is turned into a play on Broadway. Here is a headline in Haaretz and it is plagiarized from the headline of Le Monde after Sep. 11. I am sure that somebody in the US will now praise this headline and say that this is the most thoughtful sentiment ever expressed toward the US: it may soon be turned into...a play on Broadway.

He is talking about a headline that reads "On this 9/11 anniversary, we're all American." Wow, Ha'aretz really pulled a fast one there. Everyone is going to assume that's an original sentiment that was never voiced before . . .

Were Iran and Hezbollah involved in 9/11?

According to a Ynet article, the 9/11 commission knew some of the evidence led in the direction of Iranian involvement and failed to follow the lead:

[...] At the end of the day, the commission noted in its report that the issue deserves further scrutiny by the US Administration. However, such examination was not undertaken and may have never materialized. Indeed, this entire affair may have remained buried in the three abovementioned pages, had it not been for one brave woman: Ellen Saracini.

Saracini is not an intelligence analyst or counter-terrorism expert. She is the widow of pilot victor Saracini, the captain of the Boeing jet that took off from Boston aboard United flight 175, which was crashed into the southern tower. However, Ellen was unwilling to see the death of her husband and father of her two daughters end with yet another line in the commission’s report; she decided to seek justice on her own.

Saracini approached attorney Thomas Mellon, who specializes in lawsuits against large corporations. Mellon’s team members launched an investigation. They met potential witnesses, interviewed intelligence officials, CIA agents, Iranian defectors, a French judge and others. They even reached Israel in their search (in the interest of full disclosure, the writer of this article was also summoned to testify in the trial, as one of nine expert witnesses.)

The investigation kept progressing, diving deep into the dark corners of the global world of intelligence and terrorism. Ten years later, Mellon and his team are convinced that they possess the “smoking gun” that will tie Iran to the September 11 attacks. [...]

See the original for most of the substance of the article. (h/t: Israel Matzav)

An unusually interesting 9/11 anniversary

Tenth anniversaries are like that, I guess. This is the first anniversary of 9/11 since the death of Bin Laden. We seem to have come full-circle. We awoke on the original 9/11 to discover that an entire country--Afghanistan--was hosting terrorists who were targeting the US. And finally Pakistan, as we recently and rather unexpectedly learned, had been hosting and protecting Bin Laden for years, right up until his demise. You have to give Obama credit for one gloriously non-politically-correct act: he dumped Bin Laden's body into the sea. Can you imagine the news headlines now on the first anniversary of 9/11 since Bin Laden's death if there was an actual grave-site and people visiting it? The Muslims Against Crusades will just have to settle for the US embassy in London.

Nevertheless, political correctness marches on. Mark Steyn has an entertaining piece at the National Review about 9/11 memorial events that play up diversity and tolerance and which don't bother with unpleasant images of firemen and airplanes flying into buildings. Zandar of Zandar vs. the Stupid is overcome with revulsion:

In Mark Steyn's America, you're supposed to live in mortal fear of anyone who's not a white, evangelical Christian because they'll kill you, your family, your pets, your neighbors, the nice lady at the office who brings donuts every other Friday and then they'll raise from the dead with their weird religious magic and kill you all over again.

Don't worry, Zandar, according to Paul Krugman, "even people on the right know" that "What happened after 9/11 . . . was deeply shameful." Jeffrey Goldberg, however, isn't ashamed:

Self-criticism is necessary, even indispensable, for democracy to work. But this decade-long drama began with the unprovoked murder of 3,000 people, simply because they were American, or happened to be located in proximity to Americans. It is important to get our categories straight: The profound moral failures of the age of 9/11 belong to the murderers of al Qaeda, and those (especially in certain corners of the Muslim clerisy, along with a handful of bien-pensant Western intellectuals) who abet them, and excuse their actions. [...]

The next sentence about ruins it, but maybe the message of this 9/11 anniversary is to take whatever sensible remembrance you can get. (h/t: memeorandum)

SANA: "Arab Personalities, Political Analysts: Calls for International Protection of the Syrian People Come from Canadian Zionist Organization"

Canada is at the center of the Zionist Power Configuration:

Samih Khreis, Secretary-General of the Arab Bar Association, said calls for international protection of the Syrian people are deemed null by the international law, the UN Charter and all international agreements.

In a phone call with the Syrian TV on Friday, Khreis said the UN Charter clearly states that foreign interference in the affairs of any UN member country is illegitimate.

He added that the arguments on protecting civilians disregard Sykes-Picot agreement, Balfour Declaration, the horrendous crimes in Iraq and the Israeli violations in Palestine, pointing out that the endorsement of such move by some Arab states amounts to a massive crime, since it paves the way for establishing hegemony over the nation.

Political Analyst Rifaat al-Sayyed Ahmad said the so-called ''International Protection Friday'' is an affront to anyone calling for reform or change, stressing that Syria's history proves that such call undermines any genuine call for reform.

"Genuine reform cannot be built on the ruins of the homeland, but is attainable through its unity and concord among its people," al-Sayyed Ahmad said.

He urged the Syrian national opposition to steer away from such calls, indicating that real change does not come with the West's warships and tanks.

Said Doudin, Director of One World Institute for Research and Media, said the calls for international protection were manufactured by a group from the Canadian-Zionist Organization, pointing out that the stifling crisis in the US pushed it to wage a war since 2001 to impose the a new world order.

Doudin said the opposition normally seeks to come up with visions for a better future, but those who are dreaming of desecrating Damascus by hoisting the Zionist flag are aware of their size, that's why they reject dialogue and real engagement in political life.

He added that obstructing reform is a depletion of Syria and exposing it to an aggressive war in preparation for an all-out war against Lebanon and Syria to impose the so-called "Great Middle East."

We're not that ambitious. The "Pretty Good Middle East" would be just fine. (h/t: IMRA)

Fars News (Iran): "Basij Commander Hails Egyptian People for 'Conquering' Israeli Mission"

I wonder who is happier: Iran or the Mondoweiss crowd or Angry Arab?

Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi lauded the Egyptian people for their attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo, and said the move resembles a similar raid by a number of Iranian students on the US embassy in Tehran in the early days after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"This exceptional movement of the people in Cairo was inspired by Aban 13 (November 4) epic (the takeover of the former US embassy in Tehran in 1979) and is a reminder of the revolutionary zeal of the Islamic Iran's students who courageously squashed the empty awe of the world arrogance," Naqdi said on Saturday.

November 4 marks three important events in Iranian history: the takeover of the former US embassy in Tehran by Muslim students following the Imam's line in 1979 and the exile of the late Founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini by the Shah in 1964.

Since the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran, Iranians have been celebrating the occasion every year by holding rallies on the anniversary and marking it as the National Day against the 'Global Arrogance'.

Naqdi expressed pleasure with the Egyptian people's demonstrations which forced the Israeli ambassador to leave the country, and warned the Zionists that in case they return to Cairo, even the steel walls of their complex will not be able to resist and protect them from the wrath of the Egyptian people.

The Israeli ambassador to Egypt flew out of Cairo, a few hours after demonstrators stormed the Israeli embassy.

Yitzhak Levanon boarded a plane before dawn on Saturday mohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrning.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the early hours of Saturday morning Tel Aviv time, and urged Washington to help protect the Israeli embassy in Cairo.

Egyptian protesters stormed the embassy on Friday, destroying a part of a barricade wall around the building in the process.

Egyptian police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

One person died due to asphyxiation after inhaling tear gas, and about 450 demonstrators were injured, medical personnel said. [...]

Current sources are saying more than a thousand were injured.

Today's Zaman (Turkey): "'As a Jew, I’m happier in Turkey than I’d be in Israel'"

Does he mean this, or is he merely like the Jewish figures who show up periodically in the Khomeinist press?

Prominent Turkish Jewish businessman İshak Alaton has said he couldn’t possibly lead a happier or a more fulfilling life than he enjoys in Turkey if he were to emigrate to Israel, speaking in an interview with a German radio station, news reports said on Friday.

Alaton spoke to a radio show aired on Radio Germany, during a program on the state of Turkey’s Jews and the recent tension between Turkey and Israel. The show’s host underlined that Alaton, who has long been respected for his democratic stance, is also admired for having donated $1 billion to charity efforts to fight famine in East Africa.

Being Jewish in Turkey has never felt like an extraordinary situation to Alaton. He said the crisis between Turkey and Israel certainly doesn’t make it easier for İstanbul’s 25,000-strong Jewish community to live together with Muslims, but noted that he does not have the least concern that the Jewish community will face pressure from the government. “This government is much more understanding toward minorities than any previous government. I remember the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, when we were referred to in legal texts as “foreigners” living here. Today, we are equal citizens of this country. Why should I be more worried now than yesterday?” Alaton said.

Alaton said he has no intention to migrate to Israel because of the crisis. “I can imagine there are segments of Israeli society that wouldn’t be opposed to seeing the Jewish community in Turkey in a difficult situation because of this crisis, because in that case, they could tell us, “come to Israel.” But this is certainly not the case for me. Israel is on the wrong track; the government is increasingly oppressive. I wouldn’t be happier there. The opposite would happen.”

In Alaton’s opinion, the partnership between Turkey and Israel prior to the crisis was not as strong as some make it out to have been. “The truth is coming out now, because the so-called great relationship between the two countries was based on military ties. Contact between the peoples was greatly neglected. The increasing alienation between the two nations was fanned by radical politicians such as Foreign Minister Liebermann, who uses every opportunity to express his hatred of all that is Turkish and Muslim. I’m afraid the relationship between the two countries is likely to deteriorate further than improve.”

Radio Germany said the first wave of Jewish migration to Turkey took place in 1492, when Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition regime arrived in Turkey. The radio program also noted that although Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had feelings of antipathy toward Israel, he pursues a policy based on Ottoman tolerance towards religious minorities.

They got the "antipathy" right anyway.

Juan Cole sentence of the day

Notice the words "putative," "civilian," and "research":

Barak added that Israel can live even with a nuclear-armed neighbor (apparently uncharacteristically, Barak wants to downplay the putative threat of Iran’s civilian nuclear research program.

9 Elul in History

According to the feature "This Day in History" at OU.org, on 9 Elul:

Ramban arrived in Jerusalem, 1267, and reestablished the Jewish community here, soon after his arrival. (The community enjoyed continuous existence until 1948. It was reestablished in 1967.)

Anyone with a standard set of Talmud or the standard Pentateuch with multiple commentaries has works of the Ramban, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Nachmandes) on his bookshelf. If the editions on your bookshelf have clear print instead of blurry print, they were probably newly edited and printed in Israel.

Great New Enemy! The "Dishonest Forces"

Korean News is making great leaps forward and soon it will emerge as the great Songun treasured sword that renders all Dictator news agencies superfluous. The present three paragraphs of Chavez-swill introduce a new enemy hitherto unknown on these pages. More over World Arrogance, Bullying Powers, the Traitor Lee Myung Bak Group, and the Zionist Power Configuration: Here comes the Dishonest Forces!

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in a recent speech called upon all the people to strengthen unity to cope with the moves of the dishonest forces.

The dishonest forces are now trying to destroy the economic and social achievements the country has attained in the past few years while obstructing the work to carry out the popular policy of the government, he said, calling upon the people from all walks of life to resolutely deal with them with the might of unity.

All the inhabitants should turn out as one in the struggle to defend the country and build a powerful state, he declared.

"The might of unity"? "A powerful state"? Not the "might of single-minded unity"? Not "a great powerful prosperous nation"? I guess the full-blown Juche rhetoric is still reserved for you-know-where.

ISNA: "Ahmadinejad: Crimes not to save Zionists from definite death"

This is an extremely ordinary article in the Iranian Press, but the title features a new bit of exterminationist rhetoric:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said crimes and homicide would not save Zionists from "definite death."

The president in a phone call with Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Meshaal on Saturday, noted the general situation in the world is changing in favor of Palestinian nation and resistance and added, "Crimes and homicide will not save Zionists from definite death."

Ahmadinejad continued, "Iranian nation will stand by Palestinian nation and resistance and support them until they gain liberation."

Khaled Meshaal for his part said, "Palestinian people will continue resistance to achieve victory.”

He expressed appreciation over Iran’s constant support for Palestinians.

Does that mean the money is flowing again?

Juan Cole sentence of the day

This one explains why Israel won't apologize to Turkey:

The refusal to apologize reflects the ruling Likud Party’s philosophy of the Iron Fist, which has roots in the mass politics of the interwar period.

Fars News (Iran): "Senior Diplomat Asks for Identification of Main Culprits behind 9/11 Attacks"

It is always good to bear in mind that Holocaust-denial is also a conspiracy theory. Here is just one of the various conspiracy theories that haunt Iranian officials:

A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official and a career diplomat, Mohsen Pakaein, blames the American Neoconservatives for the September 11 attacks on the US, saying that Neocons have victimized thousands of Americans in a bid to attain an array of large-scale goals, including finding control over the world nations and their wealth.

In his article, a copy of which was e-mailed to the FNA, Pakaein presents a number arguments and proofs substantiating the fact that the US Neocons have arranged and implemented the 9/11 attacks, and says, "There is substantial evidence indicating that American neoconservatives perpetrated the 9/11 (attacks) in order to create an opportunity to achieve their goals such as strengthening militarism, attacking countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan and enlisting other countries for fight against terrorism. This suggests the will and determination of the neoconservatives to consolidating American power across the globe at whatever cost."

Here is his article in full:


In the name of Allah the Almighty

September 11,who was behind the event?
In order to find out the reasons why the U.S. neoconservatives have succeeded in carrying out their plans and in moving toward their ambitious goals, it is necessary to understand the causes and Motivations behind the events of 9/11.

On 9/11 American trade, military and political centers collapsed as a result of explosions with enormous smoke and dust. In this event, two passenger jets slammed into the world trade centers and another one hit the Pentagon. Also, another jet crashed-for unknown reasons- before it hit its target.

According to the latest statistics, these operations resulted in over five thousand deaths and injuries. Immediately a state of emergency was declared all over the US. The sky across America was declared a No-fly zone and the US army was put on high alert. Also, the European countries were informally in a state of emergency and their security forces stepped up espionage and intelligence operations.

The official programs of the mass media in Europe were disrupted and crisis groups, political and military pundits held especial meetings in order to try to reduce the insecurity, which took hold of all the political apparatuses and to control public unrest in the wake of this mass killing. A few hours after the operations, the then US president called the above-mentioned events a national tragedy for America and stated that this is a war.

It is a war on America, George Bush said, and added, this is an attack on a lifestyle, democracy, and the values of the modern world. Bush went on to say America has entered a war.

A war between the Evil and the Good, and we will win this war, he alleged. The event of 9/11 set the needed stage for carrying out the radical ideas of the American neoconservatives. In declaring war and bringing out its gigantic military machine, America referred to article five of the NATO for the first time in fifty years and prepared itself to attack targets all over the world. This measure taken by America marked a new phase in international policy and order.

The first stage of this interaction was the attack on Afghanistan. Some researchers by relying on lots of evidence believe that America itself is the cause behind the event of 9/11. Lyndon LaRouche, a former American presidential candidate and one of the analysts of political and economic issues, claimed in an interview that the event of 9/11 was planned and carried out by veteran American politicians in order to canalize and redirect the administration of George W. Bush into a specific course.

He said that 9/11 can never be the job of an outside group or organization because given the way the security system works, these events could have only been possible through internal security groups and organizations; and at high level of security authorities, of course there might have been cooperation with others but in a limited way, but what is self-evident is the fact that, these attacks were mainly controlled by high-ranking American security authorities and organizations.

They wanted to stage an effective coup against Bush, they didn't intend to overthrow the government, but they wanted to move the Bush administration in the direction they wanted. In his book (the big lie) written about the 9/11, Thierry Meyssan, a French Researcher says, "After the two trade towers collapsed in a way that no one predicted, complete official investigations into the incident as to how it happened were not conducted, but the official account confirmed the idea of two jets, as well as the accused without substantiating their existence or their involvement in the incident. Immediately there was an emphasis on demolishing the damaged buildings and collecting the debris and whatever was in this place was placed under the control of the F.B.I, and was declared as part of national defense secrets.

"The rapidity with which the debris were collected raised suspicion with the fire officials of the fire department of New York, because they didn't find Washington officials convincing and they were certain that the fuel of the two jets wasn't sufficient to melt the iron skeleton of the two towers in such a short time, and practically and chemically it is impossible, unless the two towers were made of cardboard. For this reason, officials of the fire department requested an inquiry in order to clarify the facts as to whether an explosion occurred at the bottom of the two towers or not. However, F.B.I authorities didn't agree with this suggestion. There is another mystery here, since it is only through explosives that high rise buildings can be demolished, while in this case there isn't any other evidence or picture to show what happened at the bottom of the two towers." In an interview with Franc TV, Meyssan discloses secrets which can only be grasped by experts in aerospace sciences. He says, "Following a Q & A with the experts in this field, it became clear that it is impossible for passenger jets, such as the ones that crashed into world trade center to carry out such precision target without having predetermined radars from within the two towers. This is exactly what happened two hours prior to the attack which scrambled radios and TVs within the range of that area.

"Thus, without these radars, it wouldn't have been possible to achieve target precision, even if several jets had carried out this task simultaneously. There are other aspects which cast doubt on the involvement of foreign agents in the explosions. With regard to the writings in Arabic that show how to learn flying and directing airplanes, it should be noted that aircraft terminology has never been written in Arabic, but it has always been completely in English. As for the attack on the pentagon, the US administration claimed that these operations were conducted by a crash of aircraft Boeing 757 into the first or second floor, while the aforementioned aircraft flew so low that it touched the grass surrounding the pentagon. However, when asked about this, experts in war aircrafts ascertained that such an act couldn't be done by non-military aircraft such as Boeing 757, because such aircrafts aim at their targets vertically or fly low, but not close to the ground and suddenly attack their target horizontally, and since the pentagon isn't very high, but with only two floors, it is impossible for a non-military jet to hit the pentagon horizontally, because Boeing jets can't fly so low and even if such a thing is supposedly possible, it will damage the trees, electric posts and other things around the area, which didn't happen and no sign or traces of this kind could be seen in the scene of the accident.

"What draws more attention in this regard is the fact that no one had seen the skeleton of the aircraft in the scene of the accident, and there wasn't the smallest picture of it, but just a black box, which it was said had been found in the scene of the accident, whereas the first statements made by the officials, it was said that the attack is done by a helicopter. Furthermore, the place which was the target of the attack didn't have any personnel or military staff, because buildings were under construction in this place and the only victims were workers and people who happened to be there. This is surprising, because only one military person was killed, while they announced that many of the victims were the pentagon employees. Another surprising thing is that, there wasn't any follow-up on the pilots or the perpetrators of the operations. Another point is that, when an aircraft is hijacked, the information is conveyed in a code to the control tower and non-military aircrafts also use identification serial number, which is sent to the control tower by transmitter disks and in fact it is in this way that tracking of such aircrafts is made possible. Likewise, when an aircraft doesn't send signals, it is assumed to be an aircraft of the enemy and warning signals are sent to it.

"In the case of the two jets which hit the twin towers, there wasn't any signal. Another point worth contemplating concerning the above-mentioned incident is that none of the officials of the companies belonging to the buildings of the world trade center was a victim. At the time of the incident, most of these managers were invited for a friendly breakfast at Ford military base, which is very far from New York, and George W. Bush joined them." [...]

"Laughter and songs full of happiness are heard from the brightly lit modern apartment houses"--must be talking about North Korea

I worry about North Korea sometimes. How can they be constantly in a state of joy?

The Nigerian National Committee for the Study of the Juche Idea posted on its internet homepage an article titled "Go and see DPRK" on Aug. 25 on the occasion of the 63rd birth anniversary of the DPRK.

The article referred to the fact that in last October CNN of the U.S. broadcast live the beautiful night scenery of the Kaeson Youth Park in Pyongyang, noting that Pyongyangites were full of joy, using brightly lit ultra-modern funfair facilities making breath-taking turns and their appearance completely refuted the false propaganda of the West.

As a matter of fact, Pyongyang is called a city among parks as it has a lot of parks and recreation grounds always crowded with people, the article noted, and went on:

Even at night Pyongyang seethes with joy and happiness.

There is the May Day Stadium of peculiar architectural style on picturesque Rungra Islet which looks like an unfolded giant parachute. The grand gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang" being staged there with big success leads the spectators to a mysterious world along with gorgeous lighting decorations.

Whenever fireworks galas take place on holidays or on meaningful days the nocturnal sky above Pyongyang reaches the height of fantastic scenery.

Laughter and songs full of happiness are heard from the brightly lit modern apartment houses including those new ones in Mansudae Street.

Splendid art performances are being staged at the Mansudae Art Theatre, the Pyongyang Grand Theatre, the State Theatrical Theatre, etc.

The Tower of Juche Idea, the Arch of Triumph and other monumental edifices and the Grand People's Study House, the People's Palace of Culture and other magnificent and beautiful edifices of Korean-style are evoking admiration of visitors.

As the Korean proverb says "Seeing is believing", you are requested not to listen to the false propaganda of the West which mislead you but go and see the DPRK for yourself.

Or at least go and check out the latest Haveil Havalim.

Guardian: "Sunni Muslims banned from holding own Eid prayers in Tehran"

Anyone with a conservative blog covering the Middle East should post about this.

Sunni Muslims in Tehran have been banned from congregating at prayers marking the end of Ramadan.

Iran, a Shia country, ordered its Sunni minority not to hold separate prayers in Tehran for Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival that brings the month of fasting to an end. They were instead asked to have a Shia imam leading their prayers – something that is against their religious beliefs.

Hundreds of security police were deployed in the capital to prevent Sunni worshippers from entering houses they rent for religious ceremonies.

In recent decades, Iranian authorities have refused Sunnis permission to build their own mosques in Tehran. There is currently no Sunni mosque in the capital, despite there being several churches and synagogues for much smaller Christian and Jewish populations.

"Tehran's security police prevented Sunni worshippers from performing Eid prayers in various parts of the capital," the official website of the Sunni community in Iran said. "They surrounded the houses where Sunnis perform prayers and have prevented worshippers from going inside." [...]

How can the Sunni world endure such humiliation? I guess Jihad is dead. :) (h/t: Just Journalism)

(North) Korean News: "Ayatollah . . . Khamenei said that the global arrogance is doing its best to blow a strike on Iran's economy"

I love it when the English language abandons them:

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that the global arrogance is doing its best to blow a strike on Iran's economy, but the vigilance of Iranian officials and the resistance of the Iranian nation will foil their efforts. Supreme leader made the remarks in a meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his cabinet members in Tehran on Sunday.

"The enemies were speaking about crippling sanctions for Iran in the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 2, 2011), but fortunately not only the sanctions did not turn out to be crippling, but also Iran achieved self-sufficiency in numerous industrial and scientific areas," Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

Instantly Outdated Reuters story: "Mehta: Arab Spring may be upbeat for Israel Philharmonic"

It is ironic that this is still a Yahoo News feature story after the Proms incident:

Indian-born conductor Zubin Mehta is touring the world with the Israel Philharmonic celebrating its 75th anniversary and his 50th with them, but what he'd like to do is add more Arab capitals to the repertoire.

Mehta, who is the same age as the orchestra which gave its first concert in 1936, said as he prepared to conduct a concert at the BBC Proms in London on Thursday night that the Arab Spring has thrown up new challenges, and new opportunities, for Israel and his Philharmonic. [...]

Administrative Note

I had to remove some of the supplementary blogrolls because the old blogrolling site has become a spam-site or worse and it keeps hijacking the blog. If your blog used to appear in a Judeopundit blogroll and does not anymore, let me know, and I will restore it. If you think your blog should appear on one of my blogrolls for any other reason, you can inform me of that also.